Nearly one in three students doing a T-Level in health and science drop out in their first year, a report has revealed.
The Education Policy Institute (EPI) study found T-level students overall are 20 per cent less likely to complete their qualification than students on other courses.
T-levels are two-year vocational courses taken after GCSEs which were introduced in 2020. Broadly equivalent to studying three A-Levels, they focus on subjects like education, construction and IT, and include a work placement that makes up about 20 per cent of the course.
But the EPI report identified “concern” about withdrawal rates, which appear to affect disadvantaged females more than their male peers on the same course.
The study authors noted it was mostly an issue affecting students on health and science courses, and that those who do quit are particularly likely to do so in their first year.
The dropout rate for first-year health and science students was 31 per cent, the report said. Only legal, finance and accounting courses had a higher rate of 33 per cent.
“Health and science and the education and early years pathways may need more focus given some negative results,” the authors said.
Just over 16,000 students started a T-level in 2023, with the number set to rise this year.
Since their rollout, T-Levels have drawn criticism over issues varying from the quality of teaching to the availability of work placements.
Health students saw high levels of dropouts after botched exam papers in 2022, with the exam board responsible fined £300,000.
The exam board NCFE was sanctioned for failing to develop valid question papers and questions, alongside inadequate mark schemes.
NCFE chief executive David Gallagher said the board had apologised to students, providers and parents and taken steps to avoid it happening again.
A Department for Education spokesperson told the BBC: “We welcome these findings that show T-level students are more likely to go onto advanced apprenticeships and other higher levels of study than other vocational qualifications."
The figures follow a report that emerged last month about the number of individuals studying to become nurses collapsing in every English region.
“Across the NHS alone there are tens of thousands of vacancies, and demand for services continues to rise," Royal Colle Prof Nicola Ranger said.
"We desperately need more people to join the profession, but the reality is nursing numbers are going in the wrong direction."
Recent regional Ucas data found the number of people accepted onto nursing courses fell by up to 40 per cent in parts of England between 2020 and 2023
